PayPal begins cutting 20% of global workforce

PayPal ↗ 0.47% has begun laying off dozens of employees at its Israel development center as part of a sweeping global restructuring that will eliminate roughly 4,760 jobs — about 20% of the company's workforce — over two to three years.calcalistech+1

The Israeli cuts, reported by Calcalist on Tuesday, are the latest wave in a multiyear efficiency plan announced by CEO Enrique Lores, who took over as PayPal's chief executive in March 2026 after leading HP ↘ 3.33%. The company aims to save approximately $1.5 billion annually through the changes.prnewswire+2

Cuts Sweep Across Regions

Employees were first notified in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe and the Middle East. In Ireland, PayPal confirmed plans to cut 164 positions — nearly 12% of its 1,380-person Irish workforce — with redundancies expected between October 7 and 21, according to Ireland's RTÉ and Silicon Republic. The Irish Department of Enterprise received a collective redundancy notification from PayPal on August 28.siliconrepublic+3

PayPal's Israeli operation employs between 200 and 250 people, most of them data scientists and software engineers working on cybersecurity, fraud detection, and AI-powered transaction analysis. The Tel Aviv center, built largely through PayPal's 2008 acquisition of Fraud Sciences, is one of the company's key technology hubs.calcalistech

A Broader Fintech Reckoning

PayPal's restructuring fits a wider pattern of deep cuts across the fintech sector in 2026. Visa ↗ 0.01% announced plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 jobs in July, while Block ↗ 1.71% cut more than 4,000 positions earlier in the year. Coinbase ↘ 1.51% reduced headcount by around 14% in May, and Robinhood ↗ 3.21% trimmed its workforce by 10% in June. Across the broader tech industry, more than 175,000 workers have been laid off in 2026 so far.fintechfutures+1

Turnaround Under New Leadership

Lores announced the restructuring during PayPal's first-quarter earnings call on May 5, alongside a reorganization of the company into three business divisions: checkout and PayPal, consumer financial services and Venmo, and crypto and payment services. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that a consortium including Stripe and private equity firm Advent International had made a joint takeover bid for PayPal valued at roughly $53 billion, though that deal reportedly fell through.linkedin+3

"Decisions of this kind are not easy, and we are well aware of their impact on our employees," PayPal said in a statement. "We are committed to standing by them and providing them with full support during this period of change."calcalistech